[PS2] - Persona 4 Thread

[TeeCakes]

Just for Lard, bring all your thoughts, tips, tricks, and well-hidden spoilers for the still-alive-and-kickin'-PS2 title, Shin Megami Tensei: Persona 4.

From Metacritic (http://www.metacritic.com/games/platforms/ps2/shinmegamitenseipersona4):

Filed under: Sony PlayStation 2 (http://www.joystiq.com/category/ps2/), RPGs (http://www.joystiq.com/category/rpgs/), Metareviews (http://www.joystiq.com/category/metareviews/)
http://www.blogcdn.com/www.joystiq.com/media/2008/11/persona-3-490.jpg (http://www.metacritic.com/games/platforms/ps2/shinmegamitenseipersona4)
You might look at this metareview's title and think we've made a mistake. No one makes PS2 games anymore. Not so, and as any RPG player worth their elixir knows, Atlus has been prepping the latest in its acclaimed Persona series for release on the last-gen system. Now it's here, and the reviews - praising everything from its characters to its gameplay and voice acting as best-of-breed - are absolutely glowing. (In the sense that they're really good, not "turn off your monitor and back away slowly.")

Game|Life (http://blog.wired.com/games/2008/12/review-persona.html) (100/100): "The truly stunning thing about Persona 4 is that it just doesn't have any glaring flaws. Even though it doesn't stand up to the graphics of the Xbox 360 or PlayStation 3, the clever art style makes up for that. Those who despise reading large blocks of text in games will be pleasantly surprised by the solid voice-over work applied to almost every conversation."
1UP (http://www.1up.com/do/reviewPage?cId=3171567&p=2) (A+): "What really sets Persona 4 apart, though, is its endearing, relatable cast. "
GamePro (http://www.gamepro.com/article/reviews/208072/shin-megami-tensei-persona-4/) (100/100): "I can't recommend this innovative experience highly enough, and from first time visitors to the Velvet Room to jaded MegaTen fanatics, Persona 4 is an absolute must buy."
WorthPlaying (http://www.worthplaying.com/article.php?sid=58128) (95/100): "Everything - from the story to the combat system to the dungeon crawling and Social Links - has been improved. Considering that Persona 3 was already an excellent game, Persona 4 is a true standout.

Geez, these scores are flawless! I'll hafta pick this one up before I buy a new Xbox 360 for X-mas!

[Lard]

I believe it got a total of 5 perfect scores, 9 scores in the 90s and 2 in the 80s.

Picked it up today after my Linguistics final.

Excellent voice acting so far and I'm digging the small town aesthetic.

This is easily my 2008 Game of the Year.

I love Atlus!

[Syl]

I started the game last night about 8pm and I stopped playing it at 8 AM.

The *only* reason I stopped was because I knew i had to work/party tonight, otherwise I would have just kept on playing as long as my body would let me.

It's fucking amazing. The characters are awesome, the setting works, the "plot" so far has kept me intrigued. More importantly, the game is just absolutely fucking filled with STYLE. Every single thing in the game has a sort of little extra "something" to it that makes it stand out.

From the small animation when menus open and close, to the way the start menu shows up, to the silhouettes moving in the background... it's just all so fucking SLICK. It keeps you incredibly immersed and i doubt I'll ever get visually tired of the game, despite the dated graphics.

[AspectVoid]

I held off on voting in the GOTY thread just so I could play more of this. It will be getting one of my two votes. I am sure of that now. I picked up my copy yesterday, and I was very, VERY tempted to skip work today just so I could play more. It took a lot of effort to force myself out the door this morning.

[privatedonut21]

Just got this in the mail today, can't fucking wait to play it! Maybe tomorrow I'll actually have some time...

[Syl]

You're going to need time, it takes about 3 hours to get through the intro.

Mind you, the intro is quite entertaining and seriously sets up the tone of the entire rest of the game, and you can save at multiple points during it. It's just time consuming and, more importantly, engrossing as hell.

[GunnSgtHartman]

Hmmm... I tried to like Persona 3 FES but I stopped playing it after 5-6 hours. Maybe I should give it another try. I didn't like the school setting, maybe this one will be better for me.

Besides that Disgaea is amazing. Atlus FTW!

[Syl]

If you didn't like the school setting of Persona 3, then you should probably stay away from Persona 4. Persona 4 seems to be more about school life than Persona 3 was. Teenagers and drama and all that j-pop.

[HALO 32]

I was thinking about picking it up. Then I remembered that I never finished #3 so what would make me want to finish #4?

[Lard]

How about it being a murder mystery?

[Syl]

July 10th was one hell of a day. That actually caught me off guard. I love what this game throws at you.

[Lard]

Some of the writing is really funny.

I thought Teddie would get annoying but I'm finding him increasingly hilarious.

[GunnSgtHartman]

I've replayed Persona 3 FES and it's pretty much fun. I hate controlling only one character though. Besides that, what's the use of social links ? The school part is pretty boring. Too much school and not enough Dark Hour.

[Furious Wang]

So I have a question. I won one of the new PS3s, the 80 gig with no backwards compatibility. Am I still able to play PS2 games via software emulation? Do I have to download that off the PSN? And does anyone know how well the Persona 3 and 4 games run via emulation? THanks.

[AspectVoid]

I've replayed Persona 3 FES and it's pretty much fun. I hate controlling only one character though. Besides that, what's the use of social links ? The school part is pretty boring. Too much school and not enough Dark Hour.

Technical gameplay wise, Social Links do two things for you. First, they provide bonus XP to any Persona's you create of that Social Link type by fusion. The higher the social link, the more bonus XP you get. This is very important, as at higher levels you can get 4 or 5 levels worth of Bonus XP. Second, at the max level, they give you the ability to use fusion to create the most powerful Persona of their type. This is extremely important if you want to actually be able to beat the game. You're going to need the immunities and high level skills you get from these Persona.

Non-technical gameplay wise, they expand out the characters that you're interacting with, providing development for them and giving you a reason to care about them. If you hate developing characters and the formation of relationships among them, you should probably not be playing RPGs to start with.

EDIT: In Persona 4 you can control the entire party if you choose to, and as social links go up, the character's get new abilities, such as being able to get an additional attack in or curing the Main Character of status ailments.

[GunnSgtHartman]

If you hate developing characters and the formation of relationships among them, you should probably not be playing RPGs to start with.


You got me wrong... I love stories and character advancement in RPGs. My favorite RPG games all included an amazing story that sucked you in (Baldur's Gate 2, Deus Ex, Ultima 7, Final Fantasy 6). The kind of story that makes you want to play more to see what's going to happen.

I just think the whole school area is kind of boring and seems accessory. It's huge and I don't really know where to go and who to speak to.

Mind that I haven't played much, maybe 3 hours so far. I like Disgaea which is not too far from Persona...

[Rafer]

I've been looking at some other boards like neogaf and I can't believe people have finished this game already... that must have taken 4-5 hours a day since it came out on December 9th.

I just think the whole school area is kind of boring and seems accessory. It's huge and I don't really know where to go and who to speak to.

Without the school parts, the game would only be 80 hours long :).

In Persona 3, I just pursued whatever S Links interested me, I did Kendo practice and the MMO and hung out with the old couple at the bookstore. In both Persona 3 and Persona 4 you'll advance faster with an S Link if you have a persona of the corresponding S Link with you (it doesn't have to be selected) so make sure you do that. And I didn't realize till later in the game that you could go to the mall and shop and still return to the school to do an S Link.

[AspectVoid]

I would just like to say that I beat Persona 4 last night. I ended up coming in at a bit over 73 hours. I put in something like 30 hours this weekend in order to finish it. It had the mark of a great game, which is that when the credits started rolling, I started swearing because the game was over.

[TeeCakes]

So I have a question. I won one of the new PS3s, the 80 gig with no backwards compatibility. Am I still able to play PS2 games via software emulation? Do I have to download that off the PSN? And does anyone know how well the Persona 3 and 4 games run via emulation? THanks.

Nope, you'll need a PS2/older PS3 models in order to play a PS2 game-- but you will be able to play PSOne titles if I'm not mistaken.

[Syl]

I'm in the middle of October myself. I'll be finishing the game this week, i made a vow to finish it before school started up again next week. I'm at 60~ hours myself so far.

Nope, you'll need a PS2/older PS3 models in order to play a PS2 game-- but you will be able to play PSOne titles if I'm not mistaken.
I've heard that Persona 3 and Persona 4 work fine on 80 gig PS3s. This was confirmed by a guy I know who works at Atlus.

[Dawdler]

I just picked this game up a couple of days ago and I'm having a blast so far, I did have to stop when I was in the castle for over an hour and the power went out and I lost all my progress:mad:. I'm about 8 hrs in and I'm glad that this looks to be around 70-80 hrs total

[TeeCakes]

I've heard that Persona 3 and Persona 4 work fine on 80 gig PS3s. This was confirmed by a guy I know who works at Atlus.

I stand corrected then! They probably look sweet stretched out to HD dimensions.

[ElPresidente]

Some of the writing is really funny.

I thought Teddie would get annoying but I'm finding him increasingly hilarious.

I was amazed that Teddie didn't end up the equivalent of Maru-Maru from Blue Dragon. If you haven't played Blue Dragon let me promise you he is one of the most annoying characters in gaming.

However Teddie is actually a wonderful addition to the cast of characters and I've grown quite fond of him... even after his little 'event'.

Persona 4 is definitely an improvement from Persona 3 which I adored so I am adoring this too. :P

I'm glad the Shin Megami Tensei range of games has picked up a bit more in popularity. Already looking forward to the next proper Mega Ten game which is going to hit the PS3. Hooray! :D

[Lard]

Yes, but there's Devil Summoner: Raidō Kuzunoha vs. King Abaddon for PS2 first!

\(^^)/

[ElPresidente]

Didn't know there was another Devil Summoner on the way. Damn... better get around to finishing the first. :P

Shin Megami Tensei = The reason I can't respect people who call Final Fantasy the best JRPG series. :P

*edit*

Just found the intro to the game on Eurogamer for those interested - http://www.eurogamer.net/videos/devil-summoner_raidand333-kuzunoha-vs-king-abaddon_intro

Would be nice to know if it is definitely getting an English release.

[Syl]

The last Atlus Faithful email had a shadow of Raido Jack Frost. (A hidden summon in the first devil summoner)

I'd say that's a pretty damn good confirmation that Devil Summoner 2 is coming to america; albeit I expect with a shortened name. (Maybe not?)

I have finished Persona 4 and I simply haven't mentioned it in this thread because some of the particular plot points that happen near the end of the game would be absolutely EVIL to let slip in any way. They simply need to be experienced.